Road test: Range Rover Evoque Dynamic 5-door

Range Rover’s striking Evoque was pushed out of the limelight recently with the brouhaha over its new sibling, the Land Rover Discovery Sport. But a recent 550-mile day return trip to Cornwall reminded me what an excellent all-rounder it is; reassuring at this time of year too, with its four-wheel drive and rugged engineering.

It’s a stylish, fun-to-drive alternative to the full-grown Range Rover and considerably smaller, just 4355mm long and 1900 wide compared to its bigger brother’s 4999mm and 1983, making it a far more practical proposition in town. “Our” five-door model still seated five adults in reasonable comfort (on our 12-hour shared-drive trip), packs a generous boot and, with its 2.2-litre 187bhp SD4 engine, has a healthy punch via its smooth automatic nine-speed automatic box. Its attributes include sporty, taut steering, a good supportive driver’s seat and a supple ride that’s a good compromise for town and motorway. Sometimes owners say they could “happily drive their car all day”. We almost did — and it was a good car for the trip.

Range Rover Evoque Dynamic 5-door
Price: £41,105; 0-62mph: 8.5 secs;
MPG: 47.1;
CO2: 159 g/km